LaLiga has concluded its football consultancy and development project with the Iraqi Football Association after more than three years of cooperation, following the expiry of the original contract and a further period of negotiations over a possible new agreement.
The Spanish organisation said it had presented several technical and contractual options for continuing the partnership, but the two sides were ultimately unable to reach a deal.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas said Iraq had “one of the most passionate and committed fan bases in football anywhere in the world”, adding that the enthusiasm of its supporters had inspired the project team throughout the three-year programme.
“Everything we have built together represents a legacy for Iraqi football. I am convinced that the foundations we have laid are solid, and I trust that those now responsible for them will know how to preserve and develop them,” Tebas said.
The agreement began in 2023 under Adnan Darjal, who was president of the Iraqi Football Association at the time. LaLiga established a permanent team in Baghdad, supported by hundreds of specialists from its headquarters in Madrid and its international offices.
Tebas was directly involved in the project’s development and visited Iraq on several occasions.
Changes to competitions and professional structures
The project brought a comprehensive reorganisation of Iraq’s first and second divisions. The revised structure involved 20 clubs and 380 matches, while new play-off systems were introduced to determine promotion, survival and relegation.
The changes also provided clearer definitions of responsibilities within the Iraqi Football Association and the structures governing its competitions.
A conditional asymmetric calendar was introduced, alongside a phased strategy developed from 2023 to align the start and end of the Iraqi season more closely with major European leagues. Work carried out during the summer of 2026 was described as crucial to ensuring the new season began on a sound footing while accommodating the Iraq FA Cup, the new Iraqi Super Cup, national-team commitments and clubs’ participation in continental competitions.
The first phase of a financial-control system for clubs was also implemented. It included financial regulations, training programmes in Iraq and Spain, and the creation of certification and appeal committees.
Iraq’s football authorities also introduced Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology for the first time.
The value of the competition’s audio-visual rights increased 6.5-fold, while more than 20 million digital viewers were recorded during the 2025-26 season, with an average of 112,000 views per match.
An agreement was signed with adidas for the company to become the official ball supplier, and the competition adopted its first professional model for activating and measuring sponsorship.
The competition’s digital ecosystem grew by 39.6%, rising to 81.7% when WhatsApp was included, and reached 474,600 followers. The 20 clubs collectively recorded 6.29 million followers, with every club registering positive growth.
LaLiga organised 20 workshops, trained more than 500 specialists from 40 clubs and delivered more than 200 hours of training. That included three work-experience programmes at LaLiga’s headquarters in Madrid, covering every area of the project, from commercial development to sporting development.
Youth football and the “Dream Project”
A national youth-league system was created as part of what was known as the “Dream Project”.
It expanded from 66 teams in the 2023-24 season to 174 teams in 2025-26. The latest figures included 1,608 matches and 4,070 registered players, representing increases of more than 163% in the number of teams, 301% in matches and 142% in registered players.
For the first time, every player was registered through the MyIFA digital platform, which included regulations designed to prevent age manipulation. The system also registered 856 coaches, 994 referees and 226 match officials.
The Iraqi Football Association’s talent centre in Baghdad assessed 1,424 participants from 66 institutions. From them, 96 players and 14 coaches were selected for individual, data-led monitoring.
LaLiga also developed a three-year strategic plan for the Iraqi Football Association. The plan was submitted to Fifa and approved, enabling the federation to join Fifa’s Talent Development Scheme (TDS).
That approval moved the Iraqi Football Association from the “development” category to the “aspiration” category and increased its allocated funding from zero to $250,000 (£[conversion not provided]).
Efforts to extend the partnership
The original contract ended in April 2026. While the Iraqi Football Association’s electoral process was completed, LaLiga kept its team and operations in Baghdad.
After the new leadership took office, the Iraqi Football Association asked LaLiga to retain its team in Iraq for a further three months while negotiations over a new agreement continued. LaLiga accepted the request and maintained its work in the country.
During that period, LaLiga said it had shown considerable flexibility and commitment by putting forward several technical and contractual options. At the request of the Iraqi Football Association, it also accepted the decision not to continue the “Dream Project” and included a new arbitration-focused workstream.
The proposal, prepared in cooperation with Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), included the permanent appointment of a lead expert in Iraq, supported directly by prominent international refereeing figures.
It also offered Iraqi Football Association refereeing representatives the opportunity to attend the CTA’s weekly internal review sessions, which LaLiga described as an unprecedented opportunity at international refereeing level.
Despite the range of alternatives offered, no new agreement could be reached.
LaLiga said it remained willing to work with Iraqi football in the future and thanked Iraqi officials, clubs, coaches, referees and supporters for their cooperation over the past three years.
The systems introduced, personnel trained and knowledge transferred during the project provide a foundation on which Iraqi football can continue to build.
LaLiga said it would maintain its international football development work and is currently involved in several consultancy projects covering sporting development, the professionalisation of leagues and clubs, audio-visual production, academies and youth development. It said those projects would be delivered with the same standards of excellence, professionalism and commitment applied in Iraq.
